OJAI: A fierce wildfire raged on north of Los Angeles on Sunday, threatening other towns after already charring vast swaths of land, but other blazes were largely contained after burning for days.

The so-called Thomas fire is only 15 per cent contained, now threatening the city of Santa Barbara and the nearby coastal town of Carpinteria, and is on track to become one of the worst wildfires in California history. It has already destroyed 583 structures and scorched 155,000 acres (60,000 hectares), the authorities say.

A photo posted by Santa Barbara police on Sunday morning showed a wall of flames several yards (metres) high very close to buildings in Carpinteria.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2017